Thursday, 17 December 2015

Twas the night before Yuletide, and outside the village,The goblins crept closer, eager to pillage.The gate guards stood idle with nary a care,Blind to the danger that soon would be there...

I've produced a lot of fan supplements over the last few years, but I've never released any adventures, so I thought I'd try my hand at writing a One Sheet for the Christmas season. For those not familiar with them, One Sheets are bare bones adventures, typically around 1000-1500 words, that are printed on both sides of a single sheet of paper.

In Sanguine Solstice, the players are goblin gang leaders, attempting to overrun a human village. The adventure is split into five scenes, each of which is designed to showcase a different feature of Savage Worlds: Interludes, Dramatic Tasks, trait checks, large combat encounters, and Chases.

I had originally planned to release some archetypes to go with the adventure, but they proved to be a lot more work than expected, and I don't think I can finish them before Christmas. However you could easily use the characters (and goblin race) I wrote for We Be Savage Goblins for now.

Wednesday, 2 December 2015

In my previous blog post I gave a page breakdown of the different sections in ETU, Lankhmar, and the new Rippers setting books, and included some averages in the summary. After some further thought, I've come up with a set of guidelines for myself - these are primarily for me, as I find it easier to have some clear goals to aim for, but I figured other people might find them of interest as well (or perhaps you disagree with my guidelines, and could give me some better suggestions)?

These are definitely not intended as hard rules, even for myself, and I will adjust or discard them later if they prove confining, but I needed something to get the ball rolling. So without further ado:

1. Introduction (aim for 1,500-4,000 words)

Overview of the Setting: Keep it tight and evocative, and try to make the first few hundred words an elevator pitch for the setting.

2. Chapter One: Character Creation (aim for 4,000-6,000 words)

Process: Describe the character creation process (within the limits of the Pinnacle licence), including anything that differs from the core rules.

Archetypes: List around 5-15 character archetypes, with roughly 50-200 words of description for each.

Races: List the races, with roughly 50-200 words of description for each (not including ability descriptions).

Hindrances: 5-10 new Hindrances geared towards capturing the flavour of the setting.

Edges: 20-30 new Edges geared towards capturing the flavour of the setting.

Arcane Backgrounds: List which Arcane Backgrounds are available, and describe their usage and available powers.

3. Chapter Two: Equipment (aim for 1,000-4,000 words)

Currency: What sort of coins or other forms of currency are used in the setting.

Adventuring Gear: List of prices and weight.

Weapons: List of prices, weight, and mechanics.

Armour: List of prices, weight, and mechanics.

Special: List any special items that are used in the setting.

Descriptions: For any listed items that aren't self-explanatory.

4. Chapter Three: Setting Rules (aim for 1,000-4,000 words)

Setting Rules: Aim for 3-5 new rules that help capture and evoke the flavour of the setting.

5. Chapter Four: Magic (size of this chapter depends entirely on the setting, anything from 0 to 10,000 words)

Religions: List the different gods, along with aspects, powers, duties and sins (as per the FC).

Powers: List any new powers.

Other: Provide any further information or rules related to magic.

6. Chapter Five: Setting Information (aim for 15,000-25,000 words)

History and Geography: Fluff about the setting, split into sections and subsections as appropriate (a typical subsection should ideally be around 100-300 words).

7. Chapter Six: GM's section (special)

Special: Move anything here from the other chapters (particularly Setting Information) that should be kept secret from the players.

8. Chapter Seven: Adventures (aim for 3,000-6,000 words)

Savage Tales: Include at least 2-3 short adventures (each around 1,000-1,500 words, the same as a One Sheet)

Savage Worlds Fan License

This game references the Savage Worlds game system, available from Pinnacle Entertainment Group at www.peginc.com. Savage Worlds and all associated logos and trademarks are copyrights of Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Used with permission. Pinnacle makes no representation or warranty as to the quality, viability, or suitability for purpose of this product.